Almost 100 inmates a month at a Welsh prison are working at dozens of private businesses, with some being paid just £2.40 a day, an investigation by the Western Mail has revealed.

Almost 100 inmates a month at a Welsh prison are working at dozens of private businesses, with some being paid just £2.40 a day, an investigation by WalesOnline has revealed.

Our findings prompted concerns from a leading union that firms could exploit prison labour and put the jobs of law-abiding citizens at risk.

Prison labour is designed to give prisoners the opportunity to the develop skills and discipline needed to sustain full-time employment once released.

Inmates at HMP Prescoed, in Usk, Monmouthshire, have been given a wide variety of jobs, such as retail, construction, mechanical, driving, roofing, plumbing, scaffolding and metalwork.

On average, each convicted criminal is working just under 20 days a month, with other roles including taxi administration, mentoring, barbering, waste removal and property maintenance.

A Freedom of Information request showed other employers using prison labour include councils, charities, call centres, couriers, as well as social housing and green energy firms.

HMP Prescoed is for Category D prisoners, meaning they “reasonably trusted not to try to escape”. As an open prison, the inmates are not locked up and are allowed to work during the day.

Prisoners are paid £2.40 a day while undergoing “stage one” training, but their salary rises to a minimum of National Wage after that. Up to 40% of the wages earned by prisoners working outside the prison on licence are paid into a victims’ fund.

Unite Wales secretary Andy Richards said he had major concerns that prison labour could be exploited or put jobs of other workers at risk.

“Unemployment currently remains of concern in Wales and we would therefore clearly express caution if employers are taking on prison labour at the expense of offering wider employment opportunities at the minimum wage and above,” he said.

“However, as a trade union, Unite not only campaigns for a better deal in the workplace but for social justice in wider society. As such, we would tend to be supportive of genuinely progressive attempts to reintegrate offenders into society.”

One firm that has confirmed it employs prisoners is solar panel firm Becoming Green, based on Newport Road, Cardiff. The company employs 23 prisoners within its 200-strong workforce.

In a statement on the company’s website, managing director Abdul Muhith says the company felt “duty bound” to involve itself in the rehabilitation of prisoners, adding: “By working, prisoners can repay the victims of crime and potentially turn their lives around rather than be unproductive in prison.”

A spokesman for the Prison Officers’ Association (POA) said inmates should work inside prisons as part of their rehabilitation, but not be used as “slave labour to line the pockets of private companies”.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) will not disclose the names of the firms and organisations using prison labour, claiming it could “prejudice the companies’ commercial interests due to adverse public perception and adverse publicity”.

However Justice Minister Jeremy Wright said there was a strict code of practice which sets out that prisoners cannot be used to replace existing jobs in the community.

Mr Wright said the UK Government was committed to making prisons “places of hard work” and giving those eligible for release on temporary licence the opportunity to work in the community.

“Where prisoners work in prison or in the community we want them to gain the practical skills and the personal discipline they need to find jobs and turn away from crime,” he said.

“For that reason the Government is looking at a number of potential schemes to increase work opportunities in prisons and with employers.

“All contracts with employers for work in prisons must comply with a strict code of practice which sets out that prisoners cannot be used to replace existing jobs in the community.”

Monmouthshire’s Conservative MP David Davies said he’d never received any complaints from the community near Prescoed about prisoners working on licence.

He said the scheme helped the inmates get used to the discipline of a normal working life, adding: “In principle I am in support of allowing prisoners to work, but it would be completely wrong if people who are not committing any offences are losing their jobs.”

Frances Crook, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said the charity was in favour of real work in prison, but wanted inmates to be paid a decent wage.

“We want to see companies employ people in prison directly, giving them a relationship with an employer and a real work experience, with wages that are competitive.

“Firms who take on prisoners to make their shoes or pack their food should pay exactly the same as they would normally for that work to be carried out,” she said.

“This would not only enable prisoners to support their families and pay tax. It would also remove the danger that workers in the community could be overlooked in the jobs market because they are entitled to the minimum wage.”

“Our preferred model for real work would also force prisons to treat prisoners like grown-ups, having breakfast, a shower, and getting to work on time. It would enable long term prisoners to learn valuable skills, helping their rehabilitation and significantly improving their chances of finding a job following their release.”

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